Carrot Stew Confessions
by MadManMatt64
Summary: After saving the life of the exalt, Panne joins the Shepards. At first, she thinks she's going to hate it. But one person is at least making it tolerable... A Avatar/Panne story. May turn M later. May also include Morgan and Yarne.
1. Chapter 1

**So, after looking through the Fire Emblem archives, I found that there weren't many stories with Panne, and even less where she was paired with the Avatar. So, I took it upon myself to create a story about the two of them. And also, Richard is the name of the Avatar in this. Please, enjoy.**

Carrot Stew Confessions

Chapter 1: First Meetings

Richard was new to this place, that much was certain. Then again, he might not be, as he had no real way of knowing if he just showed up out of the blue, or if he had been in Ylisse his whole life and he just forgot all about that past life after... something happened. But either way, it didn't matter whether or not he was new to this world or if he lived here for his whole life. It would never change the fact that Ylisstol was one of the most beautiful places he had ever seen. The masonry and statuary on display were masterfully done, and the tapestries, though quite old, still seemed to be brand new, right out of the seamstress' loom. The carpets were lined with gold, and the exalt's throne was made of a dark wood and stood tall and proud in it's place. Truth be told, it was the most beautifully designed building Richard had ever seen.

It was a shame then, that assassins had come to murder the exalt, making it impossible to appreciate the architecture.

Richard, as master tactician of the Shepards, commanded a small regiment of troops on the left side of Emmeryn's chambers, preventing the enemy from climbing up the stairs at that area and breaking through her door. His forces consisted of Lissa, Kellam, Frederick, and Donnel, and he was pleased with this arrangement. After all, he had hand picked them to come with him. Yes, Lissa and Donnel could be considered weak links, but if they stuck close to Kellam and Frederick, they would both be fine.

Richard looked to his right and down the hall that lead to the exalt's chambers. He could see Marth, now protecting the exalt's doors from those who would wish to harm her. Past her, he could see Chrom on the other side, and he could also see that he was giving him the thumbs up, the signal that the battle was to begin. Richard reciprocated the gesture, and commanded the small group make their way down the stairs and route any enemies that came past. Sure enough, a few of the would be assassin's came up and started to attack.

The first was a theif, and a low ranking one at that. However, he was quick. Quick enough to strike Kellam, who was actually gashed by the cut rather badly.. Fortunately, since Lissa was nearby, she was able to heal his wounds before they got too bad. With a quick thanks, Kellam charged at the theif at the fastest speed he could, and thrusted his lance into the mage's stomach, killing him.

"Good job, Kellam!", Richard shouted in an encouraging tone as he went up against a dark mage. All it took was a couple of quick fire spells, and he was down for the count.

Kellam thanked Richard as he went over toward Lissa in an effort to protect her. Before he could however, Donnel stepped in and called out, "Don't you worry none! Ah'll protect 'er!"

As if to test this, a lone dark mage came up the stairs and ran towards where the two stood. He was about to cast Nosferatu, but before her could, Donnel cried out "YEEEEE-HAAAA!", before rushing toward the evil mage, jumping up into the air, and plunging his lance in between the mage's eyes. He then drew it out of the corpse's skull before looking at the wide-eyed group. He chuckled and said, "See? Told ya ya didn't have ta worry none."

Richard was the first to recover from the display and said, "Well then... I suppose the plan has changed. Frederick, go to the central staircase and rout the enemy before they can go up to Emmeryn's room. Kellam, take the left staircase. Donnel, guard Lissa with your life. I'm going to regroup with Chrom and see how things are looking with him."

Each gave Richard a salute and went onto their duties, Lissa and Donnel going back to the hallway to the exalt's chambers. Richard tried to follow Frederick closely, but the knight rode off before he could catch up. Richard sighed in exasperation, but he could still hold is own, and he continued onto his position. But as he did, he could hear Chrom shouting... something. It was hard to hear, but it sounded to him that he had come across another assassin, and by the sound of it a powerful one. As quick as he could, he changed course and ran past Fredrick and toward the stairs, hoping to protect his friend. He then came face to face with Chrom, who looked surprised to see his friend in a state of something akin to worry. Richard sighed in relief and said, "Thank the Gods... I thought that one of those assassins were giving you trouble."

Chrom looked slightly confused before he realized what Richard was talking about, "Oh, you heard that. Don't worry, it was only a false alarm. She's here to help us."

Now it was Richard's turn to be confused, "Who?"

Chrom pointed toward the room where he had just came from, and Richard looked to see two new people. One was a man in a bandanna with a sack over his shoulder and what appeared to be a belt full of candy. And odd sort, but obviously not the person that Chrom was talking about, due to the fact he possessed a Y chromosome (Not that Richard knew what that was.). No, the woman that Chrom was talking about was just a little bit right of the man in the bandanna.

Richard sized up this new helper rather quickly, and he could tell that she wasn't there to sit there and look pretty. She had a scowl on her face, as though she hated everyone within her vicinity. She was of a rather tall build, and she wore a purple breastplate and what at first appeared to be boots, but on closer inspection was actually what could be considered armored leggings, as she was barefoot. Her midriff was kept bare, and she seemed to be wearing brown shorts. All in all, she didn't seem to be particularly strong, but right now they needed all the help they could get.

Richard turned to Chrom and said, "Did she say her reasons for being here?"

Chrom shook his head and said, "So far, no. There was something about repaying a debt, but nothing other than that. Marth said she was here to help, and I have no reason to not believe her."

Richard nodded, "Yes, it would probably be unwise to doubt her, considering the circumstances..."

"I've given orders to leave her be.", Chrom said, "However, Frederick seems to think she should still be watched, so I promised him that I would have one of my most trusted compatriots keep an eye on her."

Richard knew where this was heading, "I suppose that I was the one who you wanted to keep an eye on her?"

Chrom smirked and said jokingly, "Actually I was thinking about Vaike, but thank you for volunteering."

They shared a chuckle before quickly parting ways as the battle commenced once more, Chrom double teaming with Frederick against a particularly nasty fighter. Richard however, was once again barely able to keep up with those in his charge, and was only able to get to her after she had temporarily stopped moving. It wasn't long before she noticed the master tactician and turned her head toward him. "Who are you?", she asked harshly, going into a defensive stance, "If you're here to harm the exalt, I will stop you."

Richard stepped back and raised his hands defensively, saying, "Easy, I'm only here to help. My name is Richard."

The woman looked at him, as though sizing him up, before moving out of her stance and saying, "Oh, yes. I've heard many things about you, man-spawn."

Man-spawn? What could she mean by that? Wasn't she human was well? But then Richard now realized that he didn't see everything there was to see about this woman. Her neck and wrists were covered in hair... wait, not hair. It was _fur_. He also realized that she wasn't wearing brown pants. No, she wasn't even wearing pants at all. The only thing that covered her unmentionables was even more fur, rather thick fur at that. Richard quickly turned his attention away from that and to her face, which had whisker like markings on her cheeks, and he wasn't sure if they were birthmarks or war paint. He then noticed another rather bizarre feature: she had no ears. Well, rather she didn't have human ears. Her ears were those of a rabbit's, and were being held down by some braided hair.

Shaking his head of those thoughts, Richard said, "I'm here to offer you my support."

"I don't need help.", she said curtly before continuing on into the next room. As she did, Richard couldn't help but notice the fact that she had a rabbit's tail to go along with the ears. Now he didn't know what to think. Obviously, she wasn't a human, but if so... then what was she?

Nevertheless, despite the fact she most decidedly wasn't human, he started to follow her. He started to go after her again, and said, "Be that as it may, I've been ordered to give you my support, and I'm going to help you whether you like it or not."

She stopped once more and turned around, saying, "You're not going to leave me alone until I agree, aren't you?"

He shook his head, "I'm not one to disobey orders, especially when my best friend is the one who's giving them out."

She sighed in slight irritation before looking over her shoulder to see a thief coming around the bend. She quickly turned her attention to Richard before saying, "Alright, but if you get in my way, you can consider our partnership over."

Well, Richard couldn't argue with that. But before he could agree with her on that, she had once more turned her attention toward the thief. Richard drew his sword, stood beside the woman, and took a stance, saying, "Alright, let's take care of him."

"I couldn't agree more.", she said, before going onto all fours. At first, Richard was confused by this motion. Then he was more confused when he saw that her entire body was surrounded by what appeared to be a gray-colored crystal-like substance. Then he was supremely confused when he saw that the crystal had shattered, and in the woman's place was a giant rabbit-like creature. Richard could barely keep his jaw from slacking as she bounded toward the would-be assassin and slashed at him with her sharp claws, killing him instantly. She then sat on her haunches before a bright light appeared, and she was once again back in her humanoid form. She almost immediately took notice of the tactician's amazed face, and upon noticing, she rolled her eyes and said, "I'm guessing you've never met someone like me before."

Someone like her? There were more people like her? If so, where were they? Richard's head was starting to hurt from all the questions he had about this woman. But for now, he tried his best to push them out of his mind before saying, "No... I have not."

"Not surprising.", she said before moving on again and leaving Richard in the dust. He sighed before running after her again. He quickly noticed her as she was now in the middle of her transformation, as evidenced by the shell of gray crystal. As fast as he could, he went beside the shell and drew out his sword as the crystal broke. Richard quickly sized up their target. A simple dark mage, and one that shouldn't be too much trouble. Still, he was thankful that... huh. What was her name? He never got one...

His train of thought was then interrupted by a cry of pain from the mage, who had a horrid looking gash across his abdomen. Yet he still wasn't down for the count, and cast a spell on the taguel woman, harming her while at the same time healing him.

While not significantly weakened, the rabbit monster was a little caught off guard by the successful attack, and it was just enough that it looked like the mage was going to get a second hit in. Richard couldn't allow this. He charged forward, sword pointed downwards, before raising it up and using it's momentum to create a sort of spin attack. This was enough to take down the dark mage, and keep himself and the woman safe. Speaking of which, he received a bit of a shock when he heard a reverberated voice saying to him, "Well... I suppose I owe you a debt."

Richard was startled by this at first, but he quickly realized who it was from. Still, it didn't mean he knew what she was talking about. So, he turned to her and said, "I'm sorry, but what do you mean by that."

The bright light returned, turning the monster-rabbit back into a humanoid shape. As she continued onto the next fight, she replied, "In the warren, we exchanged favors for favors. You saved my life, so I owe a debt."

"Oh.", Richard said. A favor? Well, that was... not what he expected. Usually whenever he did what he just did, all he got was a thank you and that was the end of that. Now he was supposed to have her pay off a favor he had no idea he was doing? After all, what would he ask? He didn't want to take advantage of it, but still he wanted some use of it. Then, an idea struck him. He asked, "So, I've thought of a favor."

The woman paused and gave him an irritated look, as though she was scolding him for thinking up of a chore for her to do so quickly. Still, a debt's a debt, even on the middle of the battlefield, and she took it humbly, saying, "What do you ask of me, then?"

"I want to know what your name is.", Richard said, hoping that this ploy would work.

She gave him another odd look before she said, "...You want to know my name?". It sounded almost as though she couldn't believe it herself.

"If it isn't too much trouble.", he added, "After all, we're in the middle of a battle."

She closed her eyes and looked thoughtful for a moment before saying, "Panne. My name is Panne."

Richard smiled at her and said, "It's nice to meet you, Panne."

She didn't really respond. She only gave a slight grunt of acknowledgment and continued on to the next battle. Richard followed behind closely, and from that point on, the only dialogue between them was him shouting encouragements while she gouged and kicked her way to victory. 

Later...

The battle was won, and all of the assassins had either been killed, and at least one had been included into their ranks. All in all, a successful battle, and especially amazing considering that no one had been killed (Something that Richard always took pride in). But now that the fight was finished, Emmeryn could now thank those who saved her life. After a while, she went to Panne, and said to her, "Brave taguel, there are not words to express my gratitude."

Richard could tell Panne looked surprised, but she tried not to let it show. She instead said calmly, "So you know our true name?"

Emmeryn nodded in affirmation. Richard however was confused by this and asked her, "Sorry, but what's a taguel?". Of course, he knew that this was more than likely the name of her race, but he hoped that he could get more information about her through this question.

It was Panne who responded with, "I am a taguel.", but after a moment, she seemed saddened. Richard couldn't figure out why until she continued with, "The... the last taguel. We are shape-shifters.", she then went from sadness to what could best be called anger, "Most of your kind called us 'beast' or 'coney' in the midst of their hunt. I only helped you because my warren owes Ylisse a debt. Do not think us friends, you and I!"

And suddenly, Richard realized why she was being so cold to him. Humans took everything from her, and that would be enough to make anyone hateful. He couldn't help but feel sorry for her. He wanted to voice his apology, but he figured that it would only anger her further at this point. So instead, he opted to say, "I don't understand..."

He wanted to follow up by saying he didn't understand why humans would hunt her kind to near-extinction, but Panne interrupted him before he could finish his thoughts and said, "Yes, it's precious little your kind seems to understand.", she sighed, and anger started to flow into her voice once more, "It was man-spawn like you that invaded our warren and slaughtered my people."

Emmeryn looked shocked at this accusation and said, "What?! Is this true? Who would do such a thing?"

Panne's voice became bitter, "Ha! Do not act so shocked. You are all the same, right down to your base desire to ruin and destroy all you touch. Even each other."

Emmeryn looked saddened by what Panne said, but she only sighed and replied, "...There is truth to your words, perhaps. I'm told that in taguel society, everyone is treated as an equal. Mankind could have learned much from your warren.", she then bowed her head and said, "The words may come too late and mean too little, but I am deeply sorry. We have stolen your friends and family and made the world a lesser place."

It was then that Phila, the exalt's bodyguard, chose to make herself known and said, "Your Grace, you had no fault in this!"

Panne rolled her eyes after she heard Phila's statement and said, "You claim to be blameless, yet you would apologize? Pah! Your words are but wind."

Emmeryn looked down in genuine shame and said meekly, "Yes... but they are all I have."

Now, Panne looked as though she didn't know what to think anymore. Her tone became less harsh as she said, "...You seem sincere, man-spawn. You feel my pain as your own... I've never felt that before.". She then sighed and said, "Look at me. See what I am. I will never trust mankind. But you... perhaps you truly are not like the others."

Emmeryn smiled at Panne and said, "All I ask is a chance to earn your trust."

Panne looked thoughtful for a moment before she said, "Very well. I supposed if that's all you ask, I can stay for a while longer."

"Thank you.", Emmeryn said with a genuine smile. She then said, "The Shepards will be honored to take you into their ranks."

Panne didn't say anything, and only bowed to the exalt, something that Richard thought to be nothing short of a miracle. After all, she was only saying just a few minutes ago how much she hated humanity, and after an apology, she was bowing toward Emmeryn? The exalt was nothing short of amazing.

Emmeryn turned toward Richard and said, "Richard, would you please show Panne to her new quarters?"

Richard nodded and said, "Come with me.", before heading toward the camp with Panne in tow. The taguel woman looked impassive, but deep within she could feel a rather uncomfortable feeling. Until now, she always felt a hatred toward humanity. But now... what did she think of humanity? If someone like the exalt was so kind, couldn't others be as well? She barely registered that Richard had led her to a newly set up tent until he stopped and said, "You'll be sleeping here. Is that alright?"

Panne awoke from her stupor and said, "Yes. Yes this is just fine, thank you."

As she walked inside, Richard stood there for a moment, thinking about her. He couldn't help but feel sorry for her, but he didn't want to tell her that, lest she create another scar to go along with the two he already had on his face. Still, she fascinated him. He had no idea why, but he wanted to know more about her. But, the night was getting darker, and he felt exhausted from all the fighting, so he decided to save the questions for tomorrow.

As he trudged to his tent, Panne was in her beast form and was sleeping on the ground. It was how she had always slept, and how she would always sleep. Yet, she wasn't sleeping. All she could do was think. Thinking of how she was talked into helping Ylisse fighting their war, thinking of the exalt and her kindness, and thinking about what had happened all those years ago. But eventually, exhaustion began to take a hold on her, and she went to sleep, her thoughts silently slipping away into nothingness.

**And here it is, my first Fire Emblem fiction. Please, tell me what you think of it.**


	2. Chapter 2

**I'll be honest, this chapter went through a few revisions, and even with the last result I'm not entirely happy with it. Oh well, I suppose it all comes down to what you guys think of it. Please tell me what you think of it. **

Chapter 2: The Last Taguel

_The warren was burning. Panne's ears were filled with the screams and shouts of the other taguel who were desperate to get out of their burrows. She tried to shut them out, to focus on just one thing, but she could not. There were just too many, and she could swear that it was starting to drive her mad. _

_She was running out of the clearing where the warren was now burning, and with her she was dragging her younger brother Bolte, who was no older than 10. She could hear his voice calling out to her, asking why everything was burning to the ground. Panne could not respond, and only focused on making sure that she and her brother got out safely. _

_The forest was filled with smoke, and even some of the trees were on fire. Here, the screams were lessened, but instead, a whole new form of horror took it's place. Surrounding them now was the sound of horses' hooves stamping at the ground, battle cries that could curdle blood, and war horns that made her sensitive ears hurt. Still, she pressed on. Her mind had only one goal: find safety._

_But safety never came. A well placed arrow into her thigh made sure of that. _

_With a cry of pain, she collapsed to the ground, sending Bolte down along with her. Her eyes were filled with tears as she tried to sit up, but before she could, she was forced down to the ground by a large boot. She then heard a harsh voice say, "Hmph. Didn't your parents ever tell you that running away from home was bad?", it laughed, "I suppose they wouldn't, considering the fact that you're all a bunch of beasts."_

_Panne tried to fight back, but the man was too strong. She could feel his boot crushing her ribs, and it wasn't going to be letting up until she was dead. But then, she heard a second, heavily reverberated voice say, "Get away from my sister!", before the man was tackled off of her._

_Looking to her side, Panne saw her little brother slashing and clawing at the man, no doubt killing him. But as he did this, he didn't notice that a soldier was coming up behind him. Panne wanted to cry out, to warn Bolte that he was going to be killed, but she couldn't. The man had made it virtually impossible for her to breathe, let alone shout. So, as she saw the soldier plunge his sword into her little brother, she slipped into unconsciousness, and knew no more._

Panne awoke with a start, and with tears in her eyes. Her heart was beating at a mile a minute, and it wasn't slowing down anytime soon. She took deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself down, but the exercise soon proved to be pointless. So, she instead let out a loud yell, and considering the fact that she was still in her beast form, it was a extremely loud yell.

Richard awoke with a start upon hearing the aforementioned yell, as well nearly everyone else in the camp. He got out of the bed and changed from his nightshirt into his favorite cloak, before leaving the tent and heading outside. And by the looks of it, everyone else was doing the same thing, albeit a little more bleary-eyed than him. Lissa in particular seemed upset by the noise and said, "C'mon, can't a girl get some sleep? I need my fifteen hours."

Suddenly, Richard felt that everyone waking up earlier than usual wasn't really that much of a bad thing. Still, the source was to be investigated, and if he were to make an educated guess, he'd say that it had something to do with one of their newest members. So, he silently made his way to Panne's tent before announcing, "Hello, Panne? It's me, Richard. May I come in?"

There was silence for a while, but after a moment, a bright light flashed inside the tent and she responded with a, "You may.", before opening the flap and allowing him entrance.

Richard stepped inside and said, "Alright, I know you probably don't want me to hang around here for too long, so I'm just going to ask: Were you the one who made that noise a few minutes ago."

"Yes.", she said flatly.

"...Well, alright then.", Richard said. That was way easier than he thought it would be. But he still had another question, so he asked, "So... what was it you were screaming about?"

"Nothing.", she replied, "It's something I do every morning."

"...Every morning?", Richard asked, not sure if she was being totally serious, or if she was trying to hide something. Her tone was so impassive, it seemed as though it could've been one or the other.

"Yes.", she said, straight faced.

Richard didn't know what to say next. He was so caught off guard by this whole conversation that he couldn't even think straight for a moment. But when he could he said, "Well then... would you mind... not doing that? I think the others might not appreciate being woken up before dawn."

"I'll try not to.", She said once more in her impassive tone.

Richard just nodded and said, "Well... okay then. But considering the fact that we're all up, I'm advising Chrom to move out so that we can set up camp faster when we reach our destination. You might want to leave your tent."

Panne looked confused for a moment before Richard explained, "We pack with magic. It makes things easier."

"Oh.", she said, now understanding. So, the humans used magic to do the work for them? Rather typical of them. The taguel used their own strength for their labors. But, she supposed that while she was here, she would adhere to their methods, even if she found them to be objectionable. So, she followed Richard outside, and before her eyes, the tent that she had taken shelter in the night before had started to fold by itself.

Richard then picked up the tent and handed it to Panne, saying, "When we unpack, I'll help show you around the camp."

Panne muttered a quick thanks before asking, "So, do I have to carry this all the way to our destination?"

"Huh?", Richard asked, before realizing what she meant, "Oh, dear. You were supposed to be issued a few things when you got here, I completely forgot. Hold on, I'll get you them."

And with that, Richard quickly took off to get Panne the supplies she would need, leaving her behind with nothing but her thoughts and a folded up tent. So, she sat down on the ground and waited for Richard to return, which would probably be a while. While she waited, she noticed that a few eyes were glancing at her, and mumblings were being exchanged between the soldiers. They thought she couldn't hear them, but she could, and she didn't like what they were saying one bit. "Is that the new girl?", one would ask, to which another would say, "Yeah, the taguel. I thought they went extinct.", and another would add, "Jeez, she looks kinda freaky with those ears..."

Of course, she had heard this all before. When she was younger she had to work odd jobs in multiple villages around the countryside in order to get actual food. She would always hear the comments, the jeers, the whispers of how her race no longer existed. It annoyed and angered her to no end. She wished that she could silence those whispers... but no... they were her allies now. And besides, if she did act on those base desires, every single muttering about how the taguel were no better than beasts would have been true.

After a while, Richard returned with a bag and handed it to her. After quickly putting the tent into the bag, she asked, "When do we leave?"

"Soon.", Richard replied, "I bumped into Chrom while I was looking for a bag and I told him that we should get moving while everyone is up."

"I take it that he agreed then.", she asked.

"Yes, he did.", Richard said, "Now let's get over to the convoy before they leave without us."

Panne nodded and shouldered her pack, and followed Richard to the convoy.

Later

It was evening, and everyone was now starting to wind down. The tents had all been unpacked and set up, as were the barracks and mess hall, and everyone was relaxing in their own ways. Some enjoyed reading. Others loved to beat the crap out of each other in sparring matches. Richard however, loved to look over his strategies and see how they would work in battle. He would sit in his chair for hours on end reading over ancient battle strategies and trying to apply them to the current day. After all, a tactician's work is never done.

Yet today was different. Normally, he would be doing those things, but instead he was heading over to Panne's tent to help show her around the camp. After all, he had promised, and besides, he really did want to show her around. He didn't know why that was the case, but it didn't matter to him much.

Once again, he found himself outside of her tent, and when he reached it, he called out, "Are you in there, Panne?"

"I am.", she said, before adding, "Why are you here, man-spawn?"

If Richard had to be honest, the words 'man-spawn' stung him just a little bit. Still, it didn't deter him, and he said, "Well, remember when I said earlier today that I was going to show you around? Well, I was hoping that we could do that."

There was silence from inside the tent, which Richard took to mean as a bad sign. But thankfully his fears were unfounded, as she left her tent and said, "Well, alright then. I suppose if I'm going to be living with the Shepards for a while, I may as well learn about how you live."

Richard smiled, "Alright then. I'll give you the grand tour then.", he pointed over to two large stone buildings, "Those over there are the barracks and mess hall. We shrink them down and put them in the convoy whenever we start traveling."

Panne was not impressed, "Why don't you just eat in the open, or use tents for barracks?"

Richard shrugged, "Well, lots of reasons, really. Shelter from weather, you can't make ovens in a tent, easy storage..."

Panne shook her head, "I find it pointless."

An awkward silence filled the air between them for a while before Richard cleared his throat and said, "Well then... let's go inside the barracks."

With that, Richard went toward the larger of the two stone buildings. Without anything else to do, Panne decided to accompany the tactician into the barracks, and upon entering, she was greeted with a large storage area.

"This is the barracks.", Richard said with a small smile, "This is where we relax and just talk to each other during our off time."

"And where you keep all your things, I see.", she said.

"More or less.", Richard responded, "We keep all our food and drink here, and we also keep our weapons here as well. But we all carry our clothes and things like that in our rucksacks."

"I see.", she said as she looked over the barracks. It was essentially a warehouse filled to the brim with weapons, food, bedrolls, and all things required for day to day existence in an army. However, despite all the boxes of junk and weaponry, it actually had a sort of homey, lived in feel to it. In an alcove near the entrance there was a round table, and a few other pieces of furniture. It was bare, but it felt like many friendships could and have been made there. And even away from that alcove, there were tables and chairs set up all over the place, as well as a stove for making tea and keeping warm. All in all, it seemed to be a nice place to be when you weren't trying to not get killed.

After acquainting herself with the general layout of the barracks, Richard then led her outside and into the next building, the mess hall. Inside, Richard proclaimed, "This is the mess hall. We... well, we eat here. And that's that really."

Panne looked at Richard with a slightly amused glint in her eyes, and said, "So, you're grand tour of the mess hall only involves you telling me about the rather easy to decipher purpose of a mess hall?"

Richard chuckled awkwardly and said, "Well, what's there to tell about a mess hall?"

Panne thought about it for a moment before saying, "A fair point."

"Well actually, there is more.", Richard said, before motioning Panne to follow him. She complied, and after a few moments of walking, they arrived in a kitchen. Richard then started to explain, "We all pull our weight cooking, so every once in a while you'll be tasked with taking over kitchen duty. You can make whatever you want. So long as it's edible, we won't complain."

"I see.", Panne said as she looked around the room. Evidently, somebody was already cooking something, and it didn't really smell all that good. It didn't take long for her to deduce that it was coming from a nearby oven, and when she got closer, she covered her nose in disgust and said, "I hope that isn't dinner... it smells of burnt rhubarb and fiddleheads..."

"Oh no!", came a voice from the door of the kitchen. At this cry Richard and Panne turned to the door to see a woman with long brown hair and light pink armor burst in and run toward the oven, quickly putting on mitts, and taking out the contents, which was now a black, charred mess. The woman, upon realizing this, cried out, "No! I messed it up again!"

Panne was taken aback by this display, as she really had no idea what was going on. Richard however, cautiously took a few steps toward the woman and said, "Umm... is everything okay, Sumia?"

"No...", she said sadly, "It was my turn to cook today, so I thought that while I was doing that, I would make Chrom my mother's rhubarb-and-fiddlehead pie... but it burnt... again."

"Err... how many times have you tried?", Richard asked.

Sumia looked down ashamed and said, "...Today was the fourteenth time... I can never get it right..."

At this point, Panne spoke up, "I would suggest that you keep a closer eye on it then. After all, it seems you weren't here for some time."

Sumia turned her attention to Panne and said, "Well... I guess looking after my pegasus while I'm cooking isn't that good of an idea..."

"Well, that would explain why whenever you've been cooking, the food was just slightly... black.", Richard said

Sumia sighed, "I suppose I haven't exactly been paying attention when I'm cooking. I guess I'm just not good at waiting."

"I'm sure that you'll do it right next time, Sumia.", Richard reassured.

After sighing once more, Sumia smiled slightly and said, "Thank you, Richard.", she then turned over to Panne, "And thank you for your advice... ermm... I'm sorry, I don't know your name."

"Panne. I only joined last night.", Panne said, unsurprised that the pegasus knight hadn't heard of her.

"Oh!", Sumia said in realization, "I heard about you. You're the taguel, right?"

Panne nodded, "That is correct."

Sumia looked in awe, "Wow... I've only ever heard of taguel in fairy tails..."

"Oh yes...", Panne said, "The man-spawn's bedtime stories, where the taguel would be used terrorize children into behaving."

Richard could tell this was going to go badly, so he made a silencing motion across his throat, indicating that Sumia should stop with that particular topic. But even without this, she knew that she had struck a nerve with she had said, and immediately backtracked, saying, "A-Anyway, I was always fascinated by taguel. Being able to turn into an animal must be amazing.", she sighed wistfully, "Being able to frolic in the forest with all the other animals must be lovely."

"Taguel do not frolic.", Panne said flatly.

Sumia could tell that she was just not having any luck with Panne, so she just decided to drop the matter altogether, saying, "I... think I'm going to check on dinner..."

"Yes, that might be for the best.", Panne agreed.

As Sumia threw away the pie and went to check on dinner, Richard cleared his throat awkwardly and said, "Well... at least you're introducing yourself to others."

Panne folded her arms, "But it seems that the others have no idea what to make of me. It's just as well. I am not here to make friends."

"That may be true.", Richard admitted, "But you'll need allies. You can't just expect to charge headfirst into the front lines without backup. You'll get yourself killed like that."

"So what do you suggest?", Panne asked, as she folded her arms.

"Just... talk to people.", Richard said, "And if you see them alone, pair up with them on the battlefield. We find that to be a great way to earn people's trust and friendship."

Panne thought about it for a moment before saying, "Alright... I suppose that that's the least I can do..."

Richard smiled, "That's good. At the very least you'll be trying."

Panne grunted before saying, "Thank you for showing me around. But right now I want to go back to my tent and wait for dinner, if that's permissible?"

"Sure, go right ahead.", Richard said, still smiling amiably, "There's a dinner bell that rings when we're ready to eat. You can't miss it. I'll see you then."

Panne nodded in thanks and left the mess hall for her tent, leaving Richard alone with his thoughts.

About an hour later

A loud bell rang, making Panne's ears twinge in slight pain. If she were to make a guess as to what that was, it was more than likely the dinner bell that Richard had spoken about earlier. At first, she considered not going to dinner, but eventually her growling stomach forced her to go, much to her chagrin. She left her tent and quickly joined the small flood of people entering the mess hall, and thankfully wasn't noticed. As a line formed at the counter, Panne went to the back to avoid getting noticed. Silently, she picked up all the vegetables that she could, and when she passed Sumia, who was behind the counter, she gave her a silent nod of acknowledgment. Sumia returned the greeting with a small smile, but other than that, no exchange was given.

When she finished getting her food, she went over to the large wooden tables, where all the others sat, and either ate, or chatted up a storm. Panne however, wished to instead sit at one of the more desolate end of one of the tables. She preferred to eat in silence, rather than with others.

Meanwhile, Richard was discussing with both Chrom and Frederick his new battle strategies, when he noticed that Panne was by herself. Seeing her there made something go off in Richard. An empathetic feeling of sorts. He could never know what it was like for his entire race to be wiped out, but he knew what it was like to be an outsider. The first few days spent with Chrom's group were not the most comfortable, and he sat away from the others as well. But as time went on, he grew to trust the others more, and now here he was in the thick of conversation with the crown prince of Ylisse, and his most loyal butler-knight.

Still, the point remained that Panne was alone, and it might take a while for her to transition from being solitary to social. Yet considering her attitude, that transition might not even happen. So, Richard decided to take the initiative, and excused himself from his spot, and moved over to where she sat, sitting across from her. She didn't once look up from her meal. Richard wasn't sure if she noticed him or not, so he just said, "So... do you mind if I sit here?"

She looked up and said, "Would saying that I do change your mind?"

Richard raised an eyebrow, "So... do you?"

Panne sighed, "No, I suppose I don't."

Richard chuckled and said, "So, how has your day been?"

"You know that it's been nothing but meandering down a road and then wondering around camp.", she said as she munched on some lettuce.

"Well... other than that.", Richard said, hoping to gain a conversational foothold somewhere.

Panne sighed and said, "Alright, I suppose."

"Well, that's good.", Richard said with a small smile, "At least it wasn't a bad day."

Panne grunted and continued to eat. As she did, Richard couldn't help but get slightly dismayed by her attitude. After all, he didn't want her to feel lonely, but she was pretty much doing everything in her power to make a task as simple as that as hard as possible. He thought for a while about what to say, until he remembered an anecdote that not even the most stone faced of people could say wasn't funny. So, he said, "Would you like to hear a story?"

She didn't look up, but she did say, "I don't see why not."

"Okay.", Richard said before starting, "So, you know who Frederick is, right?"

"Of course.", she said, "He is the man-spawn who serves the exalt's kin, correct?"

"Yeah, that's right.", Richard said, "Well, a few days before you joined, he felt that the army's moral was going down, what the Risen, and the possibility of war on the horizon."

"Understandable.", she said, "Near anyone would feel overwhelmed by such things."

Richard chuckled, "Yes... but his methods weren't exactly what you would expect."

"What do you mean?", Panne asked, now slightly curious.

Richard was snickering now, "Well, his thought was that he should put up posters in all our tents. Posters of Chrom."

"I do not see anything wrong with that.", Panne said, wondering what Richard found so funny with that story.

"I didn't finish.", Richard said as laughter started to overcome up, "See, the poster was of Chrom... but he had nothing to cover himself, save for a sword and a scale."

Panne was speechless for a moment before she pieced it all together, "So... his servant made a poster of him... naked... and posted them all in the tents. Without his permission?"

"But that isn't the best part.", Richard said through his snickers, "When Chrom found out about the posters, he made an effort to take them all down before anyone saw. I'm not sure if anyone else saw them, but I did. When he came into my tent, he took down the poster, gave me a look, and said to me, 'You didn't see anything.'."

Panne tried to keep a stoic face, but the small smile and chuckle she had was betraying the fact that she enjoyed the story. But it's hilarity was solidified when Richard said, "And I know for a fact that Chrom didn't find all of the posters..."

By now, both Panne and Richard were laughing at the prince's misfortune. Of course, Panne didn't mean to laugh, but she couldn't help herself. It was just too funny!

When they finished laughing, they continued to eat, but the air was now much friendlier. However, Panne did have a question on her mind, and said, "May I ask you something?"

"Shoot.", Richard said before he placed some bear meat into his mouth.

Panne figured it would be best to be blunt, so she said, "Why are you doing all this?"

"What do you mean?", he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I mean, why are you talking to me.", she clarified, "I haven't exactly been what would be called social."

Richard didn't need to think about his answer, "Well, it just looked like you needed some company is all."

"Well... I suppose it has been something that I've lacked recently.", she admitted.

"See?", Richard said with a small smile, "We need to talk to people sometimes."

Panne didn't say anything and continued to eat. Of course, Richard didn't expect her to eat an entire head of lettuce in under a minute, before eating two carrots in less time. With that, she excused herself and went to her tent, leaving Richard looking slightly confused. He'd have to jot that down in the roster later...

Panne meanwhile, sat in her tent in silence. The man-spawn... why was he acting like this to her? Did he feel sorry for her? Or was it just genuine kindness? She didn't know, but she also really didn't care. Her body felt sore from all the walking from earlier that day, and her eyelids were starting to droop. So, she changed into her beast form, and went right to sleep, hoping not to have that dream again...

**Okay, so some news. Don't expect an update in a while. I'm working on other stories as well, so for right now, this is something of a side project. Now that we got that out of the way, please, leave reviews, and suggestions. Constructive criticism is welcome, and trolls will be starved. So, I hope you enjoyed.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Thoughts

"Can I ask you something?", Richard heard a voice say before he could enter his tent. The out of nowhere voice startled the Shepard's' master tactician, causing him to turn around and notice that the voice belonged to Chrom.

Richard breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Gods Chrom, you nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Sorry, sorry...", the blue haired prince said, slightly embarrassed.

Richard composed himself and said, "It's alright, Chrom. You didn't know that would happen. Anyway, you wanted to ask me something?"

Chrom nodded, "Yes, I did. I wanted to know what you thought about Panne."

Richard raised an eyebrow at Chrom and asked, "Why do you ask?"

Chrom shrugged, "I just wanted to know how you felt about her. I mean, you've been spending a lot of time with her."

"Oh.", Richard said, now understanding, "Well... if I had to really say something, I'd say that she's... interesting."

Chrom raised an eyebrow, "Interesting? What do you mean by that?"

"I mean just that.", Richard said, "She's just... interesting."

Chrom chuckled, "You're not really giving me much to go on here, Richard."

The tactician shrugged and said, "There really isn't much to say about her, Chrom."

"Well, if that's the case, why is it that you're always going all over the place with her?", Chrom asked, "I mean, you didn't show Gaius around."

"Who?", Richard asked, confused as to who his friend was talking about.

Chrom shook his head, "Exactly. Look, I'm not here to say that you shouldn't be hanging around her, far from it. I just wanted to know why you're around her so much. I mean... do you like her?"

"Of course I like her.", Richard said, "She's a little rough around the edges, but it's to be expected after all the things she's gone through."

Chrom shook his head again and said, "No. I mean, like her, like her."

"Oh.", Richard said with an air of understanding. Now that he understood what was being said, he shifted around uncomfortably, a little embarrassed by Chrom's suggestion. He then said with an undercurrent of discomfort, "W-Well, I wouldn't say that I liked her like that."

"Then why are you blushing?", Chrom said with the slightest of smirks.

"I am?", Richard asked, now realizing that his cheeks were indeed a little hot.

The lord laughed, "You don't have to lie to me Richard. If you do like her like that, why should it matter?"

"Because I don't, Chrom.", Richard said, "I just want to be her friend, that's all."

"Then what do you think of her as a friend?", Chrom asked."

Richard sighed. He could tell that Chrom wasn't going to leave him alone until he gave him a specific answer. So, with a bit of exasperation, he said, "Alright. She's prickly, almost to a point where she's unable to connect with other people because they wouldn't want to be around her. But she's a good person at her core, I can say that much. She's just prejudiced, and justifiably so. I would feel sorry for her if it weren't for the fact that she doesn't feel sorry for herself. She's seen many things, and I can only hope that nobody else will have to experience half the things she has."

Chrom didn't speak. He only listened as Richard spoke, and when his friend finished, Chrom nodded and said, "I see. Well, I suppose that all I need to know."

"Really?", Richard asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yep.", Chrom said, "I just wanted to hear your opinion on her."

Chrom was about to leave before Richard asked him to wait a moment before saying, "Why even ask though?"

Chrom chuckled, "You went to talk to her right while we were in the middle of discussing tactics. And if all our time together has taught me anything, it's that you never, ever, leave a conversation about tactics unfinished, not unless something important comes up. I was just wondering how you felt about her is all."

Richard was silent for a moment, but he then chuckled and said, "Well, I can't fault you for being observant."

The two friends laughed for a moment before Chrom said, "Anyway, I should be going. It can't be good for the leader of a whole army to stay up all night."

"I can imagine.", Richard said, "I should really be getting some rest as well. I'll see you tomorrow."

The two then parted ways, Richard entering his tent, and Chrom going to his.

Meanwhile, Panne was in her own tent, doing nothing. She wasn't even really thinking about anything in particular, she was just lying down on the ground in her beast form unable to sleep, mostly because she didn't have anything else to do, and she just wasn't tired. Eventually however, she heard a woman's voice from outside her tent saying, "Hello? May I please come in?"

Panne didn't recognize it, but the voice sounded meek, and considering she was in her beast form, there was practically no danger for her. So, she said, "You may."

The flaps of her tent then opened to reveal that it was Sumia. She looked surprised at first to see a large rabbit-creature in the tent, but she quickly realized that it was Panne. She breathed deeply to calm herself and said, "Hi Panne. Remember me?"

"Yes, I do.", Panne's reverberated voice said, "You were in the kitchen earlier today."

"Yeah, that's me.", the pegasus knight said with a small smile, "I'm glad that you remembered."

"How could I not?", Panne asked, "You kept putting your foot in your mouth. It would be hard not to remember you."

Sumia giggled in embarrassment, "Yeah... sorry about that. I guess I should've known better. But I came by to make it up to you."

"You have?", Panne asked, raising an eyebrow.

Sumia nodded, "Yep. I got you this."

Panne was about to ask what it was, but then Sumia pulled out the gift. It was a polished purple stone in the shape of a perfect sphere, about the size of a fist, yet it could easily fit into a pouch of nearly any size. Panne looked surprised by this, and said, "A Beaststone? Where did you find that?"

"My father loved to travel. Before he had me, he once went north to Regna Ferox, and he saw one of these being sold at this one port city. He bought it and gave it to me because he knew I liked things like these.", she chuckled, "But you'd get more use out of it then I ever could."

Panne sat on her haunches, and was surrounded in a bright light before turning back into her humanoid form. Sumia then handed Panne the stone, who put it in her pouch and said, "Thank you. My other stone was running low on power, and I had no idea where to get a new one."

"You're welcome.", Sumia said smiling, "It's the least I can do to make up for being so... insensitive earlier."

Panne nodded, "I suppose so. Was there anything else?"

"Yes actually.", Sumia said, "I just wanted to talk to you for a minute. I mean, it isn't really that late, and I would like to get to know you better."

Panne hesitated for a minute, before remembering that the taguel repaid favors with favors, and she supposed that talking for a while with Sumia wouldn't be the worst of favors to return. Not to mention that she was bored out of her skull to begin with. So she said, "I suppose that some small talk would be a good way to pass the time."

"Great.", Sumia said with a big smile on her face, "So, can I ask you how you liked my cooking."

Panne shrugged, "I didn't eat much of it. Just a few boiled carrots and a head of lettuce."

"Oh.", Sumia said, her voice sounding a little disappointed.

Panne quickly realized that she had hurt her feelings, so she then added, "But they tasted good. About as good as a taguel meal."

Of course this was a lie, considering that a traditional taguel meal included nearly every vegetable under the sun, prepared in ways that would make even the most adamant meat eater water, but Sumia didn't need to know that. She smiled and said, "I'm glad you liked it. I mean, when I saw you eating it I couldn't see how you didn't like it. You were practically wolfing it down!"

Panne shrugged, "I just like to eat quickly."

"Speaking of which, what were you talking about with Richard earlier?", Sumia asked, "You two were laughing pretty hard about something."

"Oh, he was telling me the story about the man-spawn called Frederick putting up the nude posters of Chrom.", Panne explained, smiling slightly at remembering the story.

"Oh!", Sumia said, blushing slightly, "He told you that story?"

Panne nodded, "Yes. He also added that the posters weren't all found."

"...I see...", Sumia said, looking a little distracted, before clearing her throat and said, "So, you and Richard... you two seem to be hanging around each other a lot."

"He has been showing me around the camp.", Panne said, "Nothing more, and nothing less."

"Well, okay.", Sumia said, "But he seems to be with you a lot of the time. Earlier today, at dinner."

Panne raised an eyebrow at Sumia and said, "Are you implying something?"

"No, of course not.", the pegasus knight said, sweating slightly, "I was just saying that you two seem to be good friends, even though you haven't really known each other for so long."

Panne sighed. The human was getting panicky, and that wasn't a good thing. So, in order to calm her, Panne said, "Well, you're not entirely wrong. I wouldn't call him a friend, rather an acquaintance. I'm not here to make friends, I'm here as a favor to the exalt."

Sumia nodded, "I see... I understand. But I don't think it would hurt to make friends."

"I don't need to have friends to fight.", Panne countered, "I have never needed friends to fight. I don't need them now."

Sumia was silent for a moment before she nodded and said, "I understand."

"I'm glad that you do.", the taguel replied, "I don't appreciate people who constantly try and butt into my business."

"It's okay.", Sumia said, "You know, I think that my pegasus should be groomed before I go to bed... It was nice talking to you, Panne."

With that, Sumia left, leaving Panne alone again. For a moment, she wondered if she had said something wrong, or if she had insulted the knight in some way. But she supposed it didn't matter. She was free to go back to sleep now. So, she returned to beast form, and laid down on the ground once more, desperate for a sleep that didn't come.

**Okay, so this isn't exactly the best chapter. But I wanted to include small chapters here and there that addressed the feelings of the characters. I hoped that you liked it. Next time, it'll be meatier, I promise.**


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